EL PASO, Texas (Border Report) – Measles cases have “blown up” in the Mexican border state of Chihuahua in the past three weeks, with a handful of those reported in Juarez, across the border from El Paso.
A total of 227 cases are confirmed throughout the state, most of them in the western city of Cuauhtemoc. That’s where the first 15 patients were reported in surrounding Mennonite “camps” or communities a month ago, the state Health Department reported on Tuesday.
In Juarez, Health Department Director Rogelio Covarrubias on Tuesday said a single case was confirmed – a 23-month-old girl. However, he said more cases were feared as the girl potentially had contact with between 250 to 300 other individuals, first at her daycare and later at a children’s hospital.
A short time later, state officials said Juarez now has three confirmed cases. Cuauhtemoc continues to top the state with 130 cases, followed by Chihuahua City with 32 and Villa Ahumada with 16.
Measles is a viral infection whose symptoms include sore throat, fever and a red, blotchy skin rash.
North of the border, West Texas counties continue to deal with an outbreak. A total of 505 cases and three fatalities involving unvaccinated patients had been reported through Tuesday. A daycare in Lubbock on Friday reported seven measles cases, Associated Press reported.
On Tuesday afternoon, William Beaumont Army Medical Center in El Paso confirmed a case of measles at the Mendoza Clinic. The patient, who showed symptoms on April 4, was immediately notified, and WBAMC health officials began contact tracing efforts to mitigate the spread of the disease. Local and state health officials were also notified.
Health authorities in El Paso earlier told Border Report they were in constant communication with their Juarez counterparts and were aware that diseases “know no borders” in a binational community where people come and go every day for family, business and social reasons.
Covarrubias urged border families to vaccinate. Mexican federal health officials earlier said most of the patients are minors and adults who’ve never had a measles shot.
ProVideo in Juarez, Mexico, contributed to this report.
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